Undesirable Arrangements
by The Lunar Witch
Summary: As an heiress to a fortune, Serena is called to sacrifice her freedom for the family business. She must marry the brother of a man she can’t stand, but even in hate and anger will she find love or maybe just lust in the brother she loathes?
1. Chapter 1

Undesirable Arrangements

Confidence. That's what she wore… along with a simple pair of levi jeans and a blue baby doll top she had purchased from JCPenny a few months ago. She had grown so comfortable in those clothes, she almost felt like a stranger as she walked across the beautiful cream and black checkered marble floor in her simple tennis shoes that squeaked every once in while. Though everything was familiar it all felt so distant. Long passed were the days of designer skirts and alligator skin bags. She had given all of that up… years ago…

It had only taken her a moment of entering the luxurious building before she was quickly scoped out by some of the hotel's patrons. Some were older, some younger, but all of them gave her the same look; that of disgust. Sure she hadn't had her hair professionally done that morning… or even trimmed in the last few months, but she didn't think it was that bad. The simple long blond pony tail that hung at her back was modest enough, but none the less she still grabbed the end, self consciously.

"Miss…" A woman's heels sounded behind her. They echoed across the hollow lobby like she was walking fast, not fast enough to be a jog, but one that looked awkward enough in the world of slow elegant saunters. "Miss!"

The young woman turned and gave her heeled pursuer a questioning eyebrow. The woman was tall and lanky, her hair was held up tightly on her head in a perfectly sculpted twist, and she was wearing a navy dress suite… Not just any suit, though. This suit had a silver emblem on the left breast that read, 'Welcott Hotel,' a name tag that read, 'Maria Prene,' and right below those embossed letters was the word, 'manager.' "Yeah?" The young blond asked and smiled at the prim woman.

"I'm sorry, but we don't offer our restrooms to the public. There's a gas station a few blocks away--" she lightly touched the young woman on the back of the arm, intending to lead her back towards the exit of the building.

The blond gently pulled her arm away. "I'm not here to use the restroom…" She replied quickly. "I have an appointment that I'm already late for." She turned back towards the elevators, her original destination; and continued to walk. Her sneakers continued to leave behind their squeaky input.

"Miss!"

The so called 'Miss' turned back. "What?!?" She said hastily as she was stopped again. "Is there something I can help you with?" She was starting to get frustrated.

"I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong building." Maria said forcefully, again she placed her hand on the back of the young woman's arm

"I don't…" She paused for a second thinking on how she could possibly convince this woman that she belonged in this building. Sure, she wasn't dressed in the manner of the 'normal' patron that stayed within these walls, but that didn't mean that she didn't belong. "Look," she sighed. "Call up to Miss Luna Ellery," She gave the woman a look, wondering. "You do know who that is, right?"

"Mr. Welcott's secretary," Maria herself was starting to wear her frustration on her face. It was not very becoming to an employee of Welcott Enterprises. She might have to be dealt with. She crossed her arms, waiting.

"Tell her that Serena Welcott is here… She's expecting me." Without even waiting for the woman to go find an in house phone Serena left her; turning back towards those elevators, not expecting to be stopped again.

It only took a few moments to get to the condo on the sky high top floor of the Welcott Hotel. The doors opened with a chiming 'ding' and the sight of a hallway, not unlike the rest of the hallways that maze through the grand building. The only difference between this hallway and the ones on lower levels was the lack of doors that usually lined each wall. This hall only had one set of double doors with a slide key slit on the side of them. Only select individuals had the key to this door. Not even the hotel manager could get in without the door being opened for him first.

Serena dug into her tight levi pockets. She struggled slightly; the pockets held so close to her hips that even the thin plastic card was a tight fit. When she finally was able to pull the card out she stared at it, sighing. Its gold finish had worn over the years of being pulled in and out of her pockets when she was little. Now she usually kept it in her jewelry box back in her dorm room. No one recognized her as the daughter of the successful business mogul back at school, so there was really no need to keep it locked up. Maybe that had been the reason the manager down stairs hadn't recognized her. She had kept such a low profile in the last few years… no one even remembered she existed.

She carefully brought the key down to the key slot. Maybe she should just forget this. She hadn't been in this building in almost two years, why did she need to be here now? She stared at the door for a moment. If she opened this door, she wasn't going to be able to leave again. The first time had been so hard, she didn't know if she was going to be able to do that again. Not again.

The door suddenly opened, startling the young woman, making her squeak slightly. She gripped the key in her hand as she looked up at the person that had opened the door for her. It was out of her hands now. "Luna!"

"Serena! We've been expecting you." A woman, probably in her early thirties, smiled. Her beautiful black hair was held up in a bun, a few spirals raining down on her forehead, making her look like a classical Greek goddess. "Are you ok?" She made no motion, as if the motive behind opening the door hadn't actually been to leave.

Serena smiled, embarrassed as she shook her head, she looked up at one of the corners of the small hallway where there was a perched security camera. "Eyes and Ears, Luna."

Luna laughed, understanding her meaning. "Eyes and Ears." She placed her hand on Serena's back leading her into the apartment foyer. The room was filled with light from windows that lined the wall opposite the door. The entire room was almost blinding with its white marble floor and staircases reflecting the sun like a mirror. "You're father is in his office, as per usual." She smiled. "But your sister is home, for once. You can see her first if you want. Mr. Welcott is finishing up a meeting, he'll be done in a few minutes."

"Thanks…" Serena felt over whelmed. Every childhood memory seemed to wash back over her. Running through these marble halls and elegantly designed rooms, doing as she pleased, and not having a care in the world. As a teenager her life had been filled with shopping, eating out, partying, and… sometimes school. Things had definitely changed. She walked through the foyer and made a right, passing beneath one of the two carved stairscases. Serena walked down the hall the light of the sun blinding her as one wall was made completely of French windows. Outside she could see the massive balcony where a blue pool sat, undisturbed but not alone. On one of the lounging chairs sat a beautiful blond woman, her hair was thick and long. When Serena finally got to the set of doors that led to the outside she smiled. Her sister sat reading a vogue magazine, listening to an Ipod at full blast. Her blue halter top bikini was showing off every perfect curve, every bulge of cleavage; it only served to make her body look even more fantastic than it usual.

When she noticed the movement behind her important 'textbook' she looked up, and smiled. "Serena!" The young woman jumped up and ran over to her long lost sister, giving her an affectionate hug and kissing her on the cheek. What had it been… years?

"Mina, it's nice to see you." Serena smiled; she received the hug with little stiffness, out of all the family members, Mina had always been the closest to her. Sure, she hadn't seen the girl in anything other than magazines, tabloids, and sometimes 'E!', but that hadn't changed the bond between them.

"Sit with me! Sit!" Mina pulled Serena by the hands and sat her down on the lounging chair. "Where have you been? What have you been doing?" She gave Serena a look, as if she were really interested.

"Oh, I haven't done much… I've just been around… you know." Serena didn't really want to explain to her sister what she had been doing in the last few years. Not yet. She was sure it would only confuse her. Really, why would Serena ever want to go to college and leave all of this?!?

"What about you? I've read the articles, but I know how fabricated those are… so what have you been doing?" She took Mina's hand into hers, smiling.

"Fabri—wha?" Mina gave her a dumfounded look, but ignored the mind-boggling word. "I've just been doing what I do best. You know, clubs, parties, dating. Right now I'm with Jesse, Terrence, and Kent… I haven't really decided…" She giggled and looked back at her sister, hitting her with her signature smile. Serena got a once over, but Mina didn't say anything about her attire, though she looked as if she disapproved. "Luna said you would be coming…"

"Yeah, do you know why Dad asked for me? Luna didn't say anything on the phone when I talked to her." She gave Mina a questioning look.

"No idea. Daddy and I don't talk when I'm at home"

That's right, Mina and their father had never been close. Serena had always been Mr. Welcott's favorite. Of course, he had never said such a thing, but it was evident in most anything the man did regarding his daughters. In interviews he had always been diligent to talk about Serena. She had always been the first attend as his 'date' when he had none to go with to functions, and he had always been severe; so severe with her when she had done something wrong; always expecting excellence from his first born daughter. With Mina, however, no matter what she did she could never get his attention. She was the lost cause, in his eyes.

Serena gave her sister a sympathetic smile. "I guess I should go see what he wants, then." She leaned forward and gave her sister one last hug before getting up. The breeze that was running through the city that day was beautiful. She was almost sad to have to go inside again.

"So it's agreed, then," Mr. Welcott walked around his desk and offered his hand to shake with his colleague, his face staying the same stone it always did when he talked of business. "I'm glad we could finally come to an arrangement."

"So am I. This is a happy day for both of our corporations." The other gentleman straightened his suit and laughed as he looked back at the two young men that stood behind him. "My sons will do me proud, I'm sure."

Mr. Welcott extended his hand to both the men. "Andrew, Darien, it's good to see you two again. You've grown quite a bit in the last few years." His face finally crumbled from its stony self as he smiled, chuckling. "I remember when you two were," he raised his hand to his hip. "This tall. You've raised some fine boys, Robbie. That Hart Empire has raised some fine boys…"

"Yes, I'm very proud of them." Their father looked at the boys, his chest swelling slightly as he saw the two. They were both very different from each other in looks and personality, almost complete opposites, but very handsome.

The elder son shook Mr. Welcott's hand with a firm grip. "I'm looking forward to working with you, sir." He laid his own blazer across his arm. The man was perfectly dressed. His black tailored slacks hung perfectly from his waist, while his upper body sported an Armani white and dark gray pinstripe shirt. Though he was completely covered from neck to toe, no one could deny his strong frame. Handsome, the man took care of himself. He was very sharp looking.

"Yes, of course son. Though I must cut this meeting short, my Daughter's due in any moment, I would like to talk to you a moment in private longer, Darien, if your schedule permits it?" Mr. Welcott rounded his desk again this time looking at some of the papers that lay there. "I have a few things for him to look over. I'd like his opinion. I'll call Luna to show you two out." It seemed that even as the button was being pressed to call Mr. Welcott's secretary she was already there. The two were politely escorted out of the office and condo leaving Darien and Mr. Welcott alone.

Darien exited Mr. Welcott's office with a big smile on his face. Not only had he helped put together a deal for Mr. Welcott and his father, but had also just secured himself one of the best jobs a recent MBA graduate could dream of; Corperate Manager of International Relations for Welcott Enterprises. Sure the job title was a mouth full, but no graduate could ask for less. No twenty year veteran could ask for less. His professors at Stanford would kill for this job.

He slipped on his blazer thinking of all the doors this would open for him. The simple fact that his father and Mr. Welcott were old fraternity brothers had just paid off. Sure, Hart Enterprises was successful enough. They, like Welcott Enterprises, owned several high class hotels throughout the world, but they were looking to expand their empire. Make it greater with the union of two monstrous corporations. As he started his way through the halls, letting himself out, he had been so enthralled with his knew victory that he hadn't even seen the young blond coming his way. He bumped right into her. "Oh, excuse me miss—" When he looked up to see who it was that he had just run into he was surprised. "Sere... Serena?" He almost didn't recognize her at first.

Serena was shocked as she stumbled right into no-other-than Darien Hart! She grumbled to herself, wishing she were dead already, but put on a pleasant smile anyways. "Darien, how nice to see you," she lied outright. "It's been… so long…" Not long enough, she thought to herself as she tried to make as little small talk as possible. Maybe she could just slip into her father's office, run away, and hide under his desk like she used to do when she was a little girl. No… that wouldn't work. She was twenty years old now, an adult. She could handle this.

Darien ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing how to react to this woman standing in front of him. "Six years…" Wow, had she changed. What were those, breast implants? He couldn't help himself. The last time he had seen her she was a skinny little thing, flat chested, with little… take that back; no curves. Now… now she had a curvy figure and full, round, perky breasts. Her hair wasn't done in any particular style; just put up in a simple pony tail, but it suited her. Her simple modest look was almost… He couldn't think that way. This was little Serena, cotton tail. "You've grown up—" He couldn't help himself. He had always teased Serena when she was younger; his nature forced him to do it again. "Nice implants."

"Oh! Fuck you!" Serena knew it. She just knew it. Darien had been a jerk when he was eighteen. She knew he wouldn't have changed in a matter of six years. She stomped away towards her father's office, not even looking back. What was he doing here anyway?

Darien couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. It had always been good fun to play around with the little woman's mind, and it was still true to that day. Oh, with her bag, he couldn't wait to start working for Welcott. He had to look back. He smiled as he saw the perfect curve of her behind walk farther and farther away from him. If only she weren't already spoken for… then again when had that ever stopped him before?

When the young blond heiress arrived in front of her father's doors she took a deep breath. She was still fuming from her run in with Darien, but she couldn't let that show to her father. She needed to be calm, not agitated at all. With one final deep breath in she knocked on the door and let herself in. Luna had already told her that the meeting had ended about 10 minutes ago. "Daddy?"

Mr. Welcott looked up from the papers that had just been signed and smiled as his daughter entered his office. He stood and held out his arms for a hug. "Serena, it's been so long." He kissed her on the cheek, giving her a nice warm embrace. Daddy's favorite.

"It's been a couple of years," Serena confirmed. She had forgotten how much she actually liked being with her father. He had always been so loving and kind to her… and it wasn't only his fault that she had gone away.

"Please, sit. How's school?" He smiled and led her to an aged leather couch that sat against one of the walls "Are you keeping up with your classes? Not too much partying, I hope." He remembered how Serena had been before she left. A little party girl, enjoying every luxury that he could give her, but he liked giving her that. All of those fine luxuries that he had the power to pride for her; anything to make his little princess happy; made him happy.

Serena laughed. "No, no partying. School's doing really great. I'm not struggled to keep my ranking or anything… its school though, let's not talk about it." She gave her father a reassuring smile. School wasn't a place where she talked about her family, why should her home be anyplace that she talked about her school.

"Well, I'm sorry I haven't called you. Things have been busy around here, as I'm sure you know. I've just closed a deal with Hart Enterprises—"

"Is that why Darien Hart was here?" Serena couldn't help but interrupt her father. "I saw him in the hall…"

"Yes, I've just hired him to come on with me in some of our International Relations. He's a very bright boy. I look forward to working with him. But, that isn't the reason I asked for you to come home…" Mr. Welcott sighed; he seemed to have just come to a loss of words, which rarely, if ever, happened to her father. "This family has always made sacrifices for its success…" He took Serena's hands into his own as if he had horrific news to serve to her. "I sacrificed you, my family, to give you the life I always dreamed for you. Your mother, god rest her soul, sacrificed me, her husband. She knew I was working to make things good for all of you… and look you get to go to Harvard now… no problem…"

Serena smiled and tightened her hold on her father's hands. "It's ok, Daddy. Tell me."

"As part of this deal that has just been signed… one of the agreements was that you… you would have to make a sacrifice for this business." He looked to her for some kind of reaction; all he got from her was a look of confusion. "We've made an arrangement with the Hart family. Robert Hart's Son… he's close to your age you know…"

"Yeah," her reaction wasn't thrilling. Darien had to be one of the least favorite people in the world, but it was true they were close in age; she being only twenty and he being four years her senior.

"Well, you're to marry him. The arrangements have been made the papers have been signed." His words sped out. Though the blow he had tried to deliver was meant to be soft, it had come all out in one foul sentence.

"What?!?" Marry Darien! "No!" She suddenly stood up. She felt her stomach turn, and the room started to spin. She felt faint as she held her head. When she finally got a grip on the room she looked at her father. "I can't marry him!"

"Well, sweetheart… I know it doesn't sound good now, but it will work out; you two are young and energetic. You'll become fast friends. I'm sure," He tried to reason with her. He needed to reason with her. He knew this would be painful for her to hear at first but the Hart boy was respectable, polite, and very handsome. Any woman would be happy with this match.

"No! I can't marry him," Serena flat out yelled at him. "He's vile, rude, and hurtful… everything that comes out of that horrible man's mouth is nothing but excrement! How could you make such an arrangement, Daddy?" Tears started to well in her eyes, her heart beat so hard that she felt as if it were to explode in her chest. "What about love?"

"What about love? I'm sure you can learn to love him…" Learning to love a good person wasn't that hard, and if they could at least learn to understand each other that would be enough. Anyway, fifty percent of couples who were 'in love' divorced. Marrying a friend was better than most could admit. A lifetime of friendship would overcome something like divorce.

"No… No! I can't marry Darien Hart! I won't!" She sat back down, knowing her legs were about to give out from under her. She held her head in her hands, tears now freely streaming down her face. Not Darien Hart.

"Who said anything about Darien, Serena? You thought I was talking about Darien? No… I'm talking about his brother, Andrew." He sat next to her and reached out to hold her in his arms. He shushed her, trying to be comforting. "Darien's not the guy for you, I know that."

Serena's sobbing started to quiet itself. Andrew. She hadn't really been good friends with Andrew growing up, but he had never been anything horrible to her. Nothing like Darien was. "Andrew?" She asked, not quite as affected as she had been.

"Yes, Andrew Hart. He's a smart boy, a nice boy. He understands the sacrifices that he must make for his father's business. I'm just hoping that you can understand that too." He put two fingers under her chin gently pushing her to look up into his dark slate eyes. "Please, Serena?"

She sniffed as she looked up into her father's eyes. He was begging, she could tell. A man like him did not beg. Ever. This was a new low that she had never seen before in him. Though he wasn't literally on his knees she knew this was just as hard for him to do. "When would this happen?"

"A couple of months; we could wait until summer. You'll be off of school then, right," His voice rang of sincerity.

His daughter nodded. It was true, her father had sacrificed a lot for his wife and two daughters, it was the least she could do to help him in a time of need, and few months would give her some time to get to know Andrew. Maybe she could learn to love him… or learn to at least be friends. She gave her father a half smile wanting him to be happy with her. "Alright," She sighed. "I'll do it."

Author's note: Some of you might recognize this storyline, slightly. A few years ago I started writing something called, "Marrying Italy." I took it down after I reread it and wasn't happy with the writing or the character design that I had set up. This is a slightly different rendition of the story. Instead of being mobsters these two families are just successful Enterprises. Darien and Serena's characters are much more developed than they were in "Marrying Italy." I hope you enjoy.

By the way, I'm looking for a Beta for this. If you would like to Beta this story please contact me. Thanks guys!


	2. Chapter 2

Undesirable Arrangements

Warning: The second half of this chapter is very sexually explicit. It's not porn, but I'm definitely testing the limits of an R rating. Hey, an R rated movie would go this far… Hope you enjoy!

It had been a whole week since her visit back home at the Welcott Hotel, and still her head pounded from the incident. She had agreed to marry a man she hardly knew… to get married! Though she had had midterms to study for her entire attention seemed to have been caught in this ugly net of confusion.

Serena slouched in her dark khaki corduroy jeans, her olive green tank top rode up her stomach showing off the perfect amount of slightly tanned skin. Not too much. She tapped her pencil as she looked at her Environmental Issues textbook. Though it had been one of her favorite classes to attend it seemed like the text had suddenly translated itself into Japanese.

"_With a new job at Welcott International and rumored modeling gig, Celebrity It man, Darien Hart is coming into quite a big spotlight. Giuliana DePandi has the story, Giudiana_," Serena glanced over to the TV in the corner. For some reason her study group thought it wasn't distracting at all to have it blaring in the background during their session. "_That's right, Ryan. Hottie, Darien Hart has just been hired as Daniel Welcott's number one International Relations guru; Which means he'll now start making up towards $450,000 his starting year, and if he's successful he'll soon be one of the most sought after bachelors in the country_. _Known has a club hopping party socialite, Darien's friends say, "That won't distract him. He's a smart guy, and working for Welcott is a dream job. There's no way he's going to screw this up._" Serena grumbled at the TV. Why did so many people care? "_When asked to comment on his new position Darien gave us this: 'I'm honored to have been hired for Mr. Welcott. He's a great man, and a fantastic business man. I can only hope to live up to his expectations.' When asked to comment on his modeling gossip, he said, 'That's only a rumor.' Let's just hope that's not true. – Ryan!_"

"Why are we watching this?" Serena grumbled to her other study buddies. "We're supposed to be studying." She tapped her pencil on her textbook expecting her friends to come to their senses, apparently she expected too much of them.

"Darien Hart is so hot." A brunette announced as the television flashed a couple of miscellaneous paparazzi shots of the man. "I hear he's dating Rei Lopez, that really pretty model."

"Rei's a slut." Serena paused as everyone stared at her. Apparently her words had come out a little icy, jealousy maybe. No. There was no way she was jealous. She just knew Rei. She had met her a couple of times when she lived back home. The girl would wrap her legs around anything that had money. "Can we get back to work now? Please!" Let's just get off this subject. Would have been her next words, but that might have sounded a little too desperate.

"Slut or not, if she's actually dating Darien Hart, she's got to be doing something right." Another girl in their study group announced. "You know this last spring break? When I went to L.A. to visit my mom? I saw him get out of his car and walk into the Los Angelus Hart Hotel. He's way hotter in person than he is in all of those pictures." All the other girls in the group grew doe eyed, jealous that the girl had actually seen the stud muffin in person.

"If all you guys are going to do is talk about stupid Darien Hart then I'm going to my room to study alone." Serena stood up from the round wooden table they had all been sitting at and marched off, book and notes in hand. She was sick of hearing about Darien, and no one seemed to care that it bothered her.

When she got to the end of the hall and opened the door to her dorm room she was fuming. She threw her books on her desk and sat down hard in her chair. Stupid Darien. He's not all that good looking, and he's a jerk. As far as she was concerned personality was way more important than looks.

Serena heard a knock at the door, and mumbled for the intruder to come in. When she saw it her roommate and one of the girls from her study group she sighed. "Ami, you don't have to knock, this is your room too," she said half heartedly.

Ami gave Serena a smile, trying to cheer her up. Ami was a mousey girl with very dark hair. Serena had always thought that Ami's short locks were interesting. They were so dark they seemed to turn blue in most lights. "I know…" she said quietly, "but you seemed pretty angry back there… You usually don't mind if the girls talk about guys," She giggled slightly. "You usually join in… Is something bugging you?"

Serena sighed. Ami had grown to be one of her very best friend at school. They had met last year, when they were assigned the same room, and ever since then they had studied together, talked together, when they could get classes together they tried to… "Ami, how much do you know about my family?" Serena asked out of the blue. "I mean how much have I told you?"

Ami shrugged, her shoulders sloping. "I don't know… You're dad's a business man… you have a little sister." She paused trying to remember all of the details that Serena had given her. "You don't really talk about them much, and I never really thought to ask since you seemed so reserved about it."

Serena sighed. She had prided herself in keeping these two lives of hers separate. Never talking about school with her father, and never talking about her father with schoolmates. "They were talking about Daniel Welcott on 'E!', right…?" She sighed one more time, knowing this was it. "Daniel Welcott is my dad… I know I always said that it was a coincidence with the name… but it's not." She knew she had lied to her friend, but was hoping for some understanding.

"Wow… Serena…" Ami was astonished. She couldn't help but sit down on the edge of her bed. The news was, well, it wasn't necessarily hurtful or angering… but it was definitely a surprise. Serena came from a multi million dollar business… maybe even a billion dollar business. No wonder Serena didn't ever complained about school loans or applying to scholarships… she didn't need to. "Wait… I don't get it… why does that make you so upset with everyone talking about Darien Hart?" Ami asked. How was this all related? "Wait you've met Darien Hart, haven't you?" Her thoughts were jumbled. One moment she was shocked the next moment she wanted to know what Darien was really like. Even Ami was guilty of having a little crush on the man.

Serena laughed at her friend's strange reaction. Ami was hardly a twittering young college student that thought of boys, drinking, and nothing else. She was at the top of her class in Harvard Medical College, and a very diligent student. Serena was majoring in business, while Ami was trying to be a doctor… but they still tried to study together, trying to learn from each other as best as possible. "He's a complete asshole, Ami."

"Really? I didn't think he would be. He always seems so nice in his interviews." Ami's voice ran off as she continued to take all of this new information in. "Why is he an asshole?" Her curiosity was getting the best of her. What could he possibly have done?

"He used to tease me about absolutely everything when we were little—"

"Oh, he was young I'm sure he's chan—"

"No! He hasn't!" Serena gave her roommate a defensive look. "Don't look at me that way." She turned toward Ami, as if they were little girls and Serena was about to spill the biggest secret about the cutest boy in school. "You know how I went home last week to talk to my dad?" When she received a nod she continued, "Well, Darien was at my place. Apparently they were signing the last of the papers or whatever to finalize this International Job that he just got hired for. I bumped into him on my way to my dad's office and you know what he did?"

Ami gave Serena a look of interest. Her eyes growing wider; she seemed to have moved even closer to make sure she got every single last detail.

"He looked me up and down, and said, 'nice implants,'" Serena's face was completely serious. She hadn't necessarily been upset by what he had said, but the simple rudeness of the comment had angered her so much at the time. How dare he have the gall to say such a thing? First of all her breasts weren't fake, and second of all… Well, there really wasn't a second of all, but her breasts were not fake.

Ami burst out laughing. She couldn't help herself. 'That's so mean! I can't believe he would say such a thing… he seems like such a classy guy." Her laughter hadn't subsided, she was tearing up it was so funny. "What did you do?

"I told him to go fuck himself, and I walked away." When Ami continued laughing, Serena was getting upset. "Stop, laughing, Ami, it's not funny." Serena turned away from her good friend; her laughter was starting to hurt her feelings.

Ami calmed herself, her giggling finally dying down, and sat in silence for a moment. "You know what that means, though, right?" When Serena looked at her confused she went on. "He was looking at your chest. Darien Hart, a guy that most of the women on this campus dream about was looking at _your_ chest." Ami looked at Serena with envy.

"Oh, my, god, Ami… Are you really jealous of that? Just because it's Darien Hart, Mr. Bachelor of the Year, it's still not ok to be sexually harassed by him. You're one sick puppy, Ami, really." She turned away from her friend disgusted. "Don't look at it as some kind of compliment. Darien's an asshole, and that's that."

"I'm sure he is." Ami said in a patronizing tone. "Now, is that the reason you've been so different this week? Because Darien Hart complimented your nonexistent breast implants? They are nonexistent, ri—" Ami was interrupted.

"Of course they are. My breasts are real!" Serena snapped at her friend. She knew Ami was only teasing her about the ordeal, but she was sick of this discussion. Why did they have to keep talking about it? "No… something else happened…" Again she turned towards her friend who was still comfortably sitting on her bed. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, ok?"

Ami nodded, what could possibly be more interesting than what Serena had just told her. There was no way her best friend could top all of this. "What?"

"Well… I'm engaged…"

"What?!?" Ami was wrong. She had been completely wrong there was something that could top Serena's millions and her being teased by the hottest man on earth. "What do you mean you're engaged? How did this happen? To who? You're not even dating anyone!"

"Hart Enterprises and Welcott Enterprises are merging this summer. My dad and Robert Hart want to keep the business in their families, though… so I agreed to marry Andrew Hart…" Serena's voice was really quiet. She still didn't know how she felt about this. Andrew was someone she had barely met, talked to, she had more conversations with his brother, whom she absolutely despised than him.

"You're marrying Andrew Hart… Oh, my god… I'm jealous… he's about as cute as Darien."

"Shut up, Ami," Serena threw her notebook at her roommate quite embarrassed. "I have to go back home next month… I don't really want to go alone… Ami would you do me the biggest favor ever?" Her blue eyes were pleading. Please say yes. Please say yes.

"What do you need?" Ami asked pretty innocently. She would do almost anything for her friend… well as long as it didn't have to do with cheating on a test or something… she did have her morals after all.

"Will you go with me?"

Darien pressed his body close to his dancing partners, holding her at the waist, he could feel the music; he could feel the music through her as she ground her hips into his. The constant beat of the bass rocking the entire crowd to the same movement, the same dance. Lights flashed, arms let loose and legs seemed to only wrap around more legs. Now this was how to celebrate.

He kissed the neck of his partner gripping onto her back and pulling even closer, so close, sex on the dance floor. When he finally made his way to her lips he was happy to feel her react quickly with passionate kisses… deep… succulent, kisses. "Rei, let's get out of here."

As soon as the door was open Darien pushed the raven haired model against his wall. The power he had used to push her was incredible, electric. His kissing was become an attacks on her lips; passionate and long. He quickly slipped his hands across her behind, easily slipping the dress farther and farther up her perfectly shaped thighs until he could feel her full round backside. Noticing the lacy thong under a thin fire red satin dress, he snapped it playfully. She moaned at the gesture which made him serge with energy. It only made him harder for her.

With quite a bit of strength he took a hold of the back of her thighs bringing her up so that her legs might wrap around his waist, allowing their groins to meet for the first time that night. He groaned feeling her push herself off of the wall to feel the now hard member under his now slightly wrinkled Armani slacks.

With enough strength to easily carry the light weight woman he tried to make his way towards the master bedroom, but even in a luxurious apartment the distance was too long. The woman's kisses and constant moans begging for more were making him impatient. He moved towards the coffee table setting her down roughly, pushing her down he kissed her passionately on the lips, bruising them.

When he could stand it no longer he stood struggling with his belt buckle, he hardly got his pants down before he pushed her down one more time, this time so that she might be on her stomach, the coffee table was perfect for this, he had done this enough, he should know. She moaned pleasure as he enjoyed himself, he was a rough lover, but boy was he good at what he did.

"Dari—Oh, god, Darien!" She felt her orgasm coming. It was as if an explosion was emanate, not knowing when it was to arrive but knowing it was close.

Darien smirking, knowing Rei was enjoying herself. One of his great pleasures was pleasing a woman in this very way. Sure it was a lot of work, but boy did it pay off. He rocked hard into her, making her scream in pleasure. He was sure the neighbors could appreciate this. She sure was being loud enough.

When he finally peaked, he had no problem letting go. Rei had already enjoyed herself, it was now his turn. They were finished, sweaty, but finished. He lifted himself off of her as she turned to look at her. He chuckled at her, "I think your dress is ruined."

"Shut up," She said smartly, looking at the ruined satin. Rei frowned, "You owe me a dress, asshole." She said with a glare.

"Ever a little firecracker. I just gave you the best damn orgasm you've had in weeks, and that's all you're worried about?" He pulled his pants up, wanting to look at least half way decent as he walked towards the bathroom. Walking around with pants around his ankles might be only a little ridiculous. He started unbuttoning his black business shirt as he headed for the shower.

"For your information, this is Chanel, and second of all it's a fifteen hundred dollar dress! Hey! Don't walk away from me!" She followed him, noticing him casually undressing as he turned on the steaming hot water. "What are you going to do about this?" She showed him the dress, now stained.

"$1,500? You know, Rei, you're a good fuck, but you might not be worth that. I'm not doing anything about the dress. You have enough money floating around to get a new one… and you didn't even pay for that! Chanel gave it to you!" He entered the shower washing him of all remnants of what had just happened between him and Rei.

Rei's look did a complete 180 as she got another good look at his perfect naked form. "Hey, maybe I could join you?" She grazed her hand down his dripping chest, not really caring anymore about the dress that was now permanently ruined from the water.

Darien quickly pushed her hand away. "Not, now. I'm too tired for a round two." He ran his hands through his hair shaking his hair of all the water that had just soaked through it.

"I always get what I want, Darien." She gave him a sly smirk as she dropped the straps off her worthless Chanel dress and let it drop to her ankles. She dropped to her knees ready to do whatever was needed to get Darien to make her orgasm one more time. Ding! Round Two!

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed that. Oh my god! A second chapter this soon. This story isn't going to take as long as Legend to finish, because I don't plan on making it nearly as long. Have fun!

I'm still looking for a Beta, so please help me out and contact me if you're willing. As some of you can see, I make a lot of typing errors. I read through it, but I don't always see everything. Advanced critiques please! They are very appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, I've gotten several e-mails, reviews, and IMs on why I've made Rei a bitch yet again in my story. I have nothing against Rei. For this story, the simple fact that I do believe Rei is one of the more beautiful girls is why she got the bitch role. Not only that, but in Sailormoon, Rei does date Darien for a little while before he gets with Serena. As far as Legend goes, Rei isn't a bitch in Legend. She is a child. I spoiled child that gets what she wants. That is all… enjoy!

Ami was stunned. The entire experience had been completely new for her. Of course, a month ago she hadn't even questioned saying yes to Serena's request. "Sure, I'll go with you." It had been a simple promise that she could hold to, but the prospect of living like royalty for a few days hadn't even crossed her mind.

Ami wasn't used to living with such amenities. Most students that attended Harvard were well to do, getting in on their father's money, but not Ami. Ami had been one of the few students that had actually gotten in on her own merit. Sure, her mother's connection with the school's Vise President hadn't hurt, but it was still her own high school grades that had gotten her in. When she finally graduated she would have hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans to pay off… but as someone had said to her in the past, "It's the good kind of debt."

Ami had thought Serena had gotten in the same way, but apparently she was wrong. Well, her father's money wasn't the only thing Serena had. The girl was actually very intelligent, a little bit high strung and emotional, but that's what made her even more appealing to be friends with.

And now here she was… sitting in first class drinking a Sprite and eating peanuts as she watched the stewardess… no flight attendant… that was PC after all… passing back and forth making sure her first class clients were happy. She had had the opportunity watch the in-flight movie, but watching people was so much more interesting.

The lady that had caught her attention first was an older woman, dressed in an expensive tweed suit. Apparently the airline had changed their rules for this one customer so that her 'Poopy,' or shiatsu as most liked to call it, could sit in its very own seat and eat pieces of pretzel from the woman's lip liner mouth. Gross!

Another older man from behind them kept trying to make his way to their seats. Making passes at the only women in first class under the age of 50. For some reason he kept talking about his huge 'assets.' After the airline attended chased him off for the third time all Ami and Serena could do was giggle. Thank god Serena was there with her or she might not have been able to handle the forwardness from the old fart.

They landed without any troubles. In fact, the entire flight had been nice and smooth. There was very little turbulence throughout the flight, and hardly any bouncing when the landing gear first hit the tar mat; the calm before the storm.

"Hey, Serena," Ami asked curiously; she had been thinking about this for some time, and she wasn't quite sure why she had waited until now to ask. "Your sister is in magazines and tabloids all the time. I mean, I see her on TV and everything. Why don't the paparazzi come after you?" They grabbed their carryon bags and were quickly walking through the airport within moments.

Serena shrugged her shoulders, "When I was still doing the party thing with my sister, heiresses weren't that big. Paris stole the spotlight a lot… you know the video and stuff… I got out right in time. Hardly anyone knows I even exist…" Serena trailed off as she saw an oncoming attack of flashing light bulbs and screaming reporters from beyond the security stop.

"Serena! Serena Welcott! How does it feel to be marrying one of the richest young men in the U.S?"

"Serena! Bride to be! What will you wear at the wedding?"

"Where's the wedding taking place! Who's invited?"

Serena had to shade her eyes from all of the blinding flashing lights. She attempted to get through the mob, and grabbed Ami's arm not wanting to get separated from her friend. She was getting crushed by all the pushing and shoving. "Ami!" She yelled out trying to make sure the girl wasn't trampled.

"Is it true there is a secret romance between you and Darien Hart?"

"Wha—No!" Serena spat out. What had gotten into everyone? "Let us through!" More flashing light bulbs.

"How long have you been secretly dating Andrew Hart?"

"Serena, is it true you're pregnant?"

"Ok! Ok! Guys. Break it up!" A security guard quickly made it to their rescue. "Let the ladies pass." A few other security officers, much bigger than either Serena or Ami, showed up quite quickly and made their ways between the girls and the slimy media. "Come on! We'll get you to your car. It's waiting." He put a hand on the girls' backs, trying to be a little more comforting, while still pushing them forward.

When they finally got to their awaiting limo both Ami and Serena were quickly pushed in. Serena felt someone grab her arm from inside the car and pull her. When she and Ami were finally sitting, free of all the insanity outside, Serena noticed who had been the one to grab her, she glared, pissed off that they would have to spend the next forty-five minutes with _him_.

"So much for not existing," Ami breathed a sigh of relief, not seeing their surprise chaperone.

One thing was for sure Ami never wanted to go through something like that again. Their clothes had been thoroughly stretched and even in some places ripped from all of the grabbing. She smoothed out her shirt and looked around, screaming as soon as she saw Darien. "You're… You're… Da-Da-Da," Ami had finally made it to status of 'FanGirl.'

"Darien Hart," he extended his hand to shake hers, but all he got was a spaghetti like limb as she pointed and stuttered. "You're friend is charming, Serena, really." He chuckled. He gave Serena one more look up and down. "You know Serena Cotton Tail that puss face doesn't suit you," he remarked as he gazed at her legs which were tastefully revealed by a skirt.

"Darien, why exactly are you here, again?" She folded her arms over her chest and crossed one leg over the other, giving him a better view without noticing it. Even so, her body language expressed deep displeasure in every way possible.

"You're father wanted someone to meet you at the airport, of course… and being the obliging employee I am. I volunteered." He threw her a sexy little smile full of mischievous intentions. "Besides I knew you would be excited to see me; us being secret lovers and all."

"We are not secre— Ok! Who the hell let that out?" She was starting to get annoyed. She thought the wedding between Andrew and Serena was supposed to stay behind closed doors until the end of the school year. "I thought no one was supposed to know about all of this."

"Apparently, someone leaked a few secrets to the press. You're father is on it right now." He smiled moving to rub her belly. "So how's the baby?"

"Don't touch me!" She snapped at him, moving as far away as she possibly could. "These rumors are ridiculous."

Darien looked over to the Ami, who had, by now, stopped stuttering but was still blatantly staring at him. "Are you ok, sweetheart?" He asked a bit concerned for her sanity. If she kept this up she wasn't going to be able to function much for the rest of her visit, much less, the rest of her college career.

When Ami didn't respond Serena looked at her strangely and put a comforting hand on her back. "Ami, it's ok. I think he's human." She gave Darien a look, blaming him completely for breaking her genius of a friend's brain. "You know if you hadn't shown up out of the blue like that this wouldn't have happened. It would have been nice to have some warning." She continued to pat her friend on the back trying to get her to start acting like old Ami again. Maybe this entire trip had been too much for her; maybe she shouldn't have asked Ami to come at all.

"It's not my fault I'm so good looking." He joked. "I'm just too stunning. Too bad it doesn't work on you, though, huh?" He smiled at her then looked at Ami and took her hand into his. He rubbed his thumb over skin on the back of her hand, still trying to calm her. "Ami, I promise I don't bite, ok… you want to come back to reality again?"

"Uh-huh…" Ami nodded; the first sign of life in the girl in the last few moments was a comfort her Serena. Ami shook her head, realizing how embarrassing she must be acting. "I-I'm sorry. It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Hart." She bowed her head, not wanting to make direct eye contact. This was a man not a god! She needed to get a hold of herself.

"I have that affect on some people. And, Ami, you can call me Darien." He gave her a comforting smile, trying to make her less nervous. He let go of her hand and went back to leaning against his own seat.

The rest of the ride had gone by with little interruption. All passengers had refrained from speaking to each other. Serena squished herself into the car door, trying to stay away from Darien as best she could. Poor Ami was making her recovery, looking at her hands, and twiddling her thumbs. The most comfortable of the group, and the only male, sat leisurely, enjoying the short break from the grueling work he had gotten used to in the last month. The entire ordeal made the passenger cabin slightly awkward; at least for two thirds of the group. After spending the forty-five, give or take, minute drive back to the Welcott Hotel, Ami seemed to have grown comfortable enough in Darien's presence not to go back into a coma… for the time being.

When the car stopped Darien was the first to jump out. He lent a hand to Ami, offering to help her out of massive limo, and did the same for Serena, who knocked his hand away and stepped out of the vehicle just fine. She didn't need his help. She wasn't a child.

As soon as she was out on the sidewalk, however, she was suddenly bombarded with camera flashes, which scared her out of her wits. She stumbled and grabbed onto the closest person to her. Serena found herself being help uncomfortably close by her least favorite person. An assault of flashing camera bulbs suddenly went of. The entire sidewalk was completely filled, with what seemed like, one continuous beam of light. This new situation was not good for anyone, except maybe the flesh eating vultures that would now be able to sell that perfect shot for a pretty penny to whatever magazine they please.

"Are you alright, Cotton Tail?" Darien asked with a wink. He was enjoying this. He wasn't sure why… no… he knew why. This was the same thrill he had always received when he was younger. He had always teased her. In fact, he couldn't think of a time in which he hadn't tried to get under her skin. Making her face red, watching her stomp her foot angrily, and stamp away had always made heart pound, and it was not different now. It was like some kind of high.

She pushed him away and grabbed Ami's wrist. "Let's go, Ami." She said with acid in her voice. The sooner she could get away from the jerk the better. Why did he always have to intentionally try to piss her off? Why?

Luckily, getting into the building was much easier then getting out of the airport. Security at the hotel had heightened to a level that Serena had never seen in the time she had grown up there. With three guards at the door, several walking around the lobby, and another two guards waiting outside the Welcott personal doors, there was no way a camera could get in, but Serena's frustration was already at it's peak. When she finally made it to her father's office she burst threw the doors, not caring if Mr. Welcott was on the phone, with a partner, or even in the presence of a client. "Who told them!?!"

Ami was frightened. The simple fact that she had been thrashed about by photographers and security all day was one thing, but seeing Serena, her sweet and friendly best friend, this livid was a first. Well, that wasn't true… the entire experience had been a first, but she hadn't expected Serena to react like this. Serena had gotten so used to not being in the spotlight that it must have really bothered her; really hurt her that all of it had been ruined.

"We're not sure yet, Serena. If you could just sit down, calm yourself." Her father had in fact been speaking with someone on the speaker phone, but he wasn't concerned with that right now. "Lou, I'm going to have to call you back," he quickly hung up without waiting for a response. While he was sure his daughter had only just found out about the spill of information, Mr. Welcott had known for hours. In fact, Luna had burst into his room while he was still in his pajamas early that morning with the news. It hadn't taken long for him to get into action; start the process of finding out who had started the rumors and what exactly was being said.

"What are they saying?" Serena asked concerned.

Serena's father sighed. "I'm sure you've heard some of it. Of course, they know you're meant to marry Andrew later this summer… but there are rumors out there that say you're cheating on him with Darien," He motioned to the business man who had quietly entered the room and had leaned himself against the wall. "You're also pregnant apparently…" He tried to keep the last one in; he didn't want to hurt his daughter anymore than she already had been. "They're… someone said…"

"What is it Daddy?!?" Serena said with some desperation; tears started to run down her cheeks. It was over. Everything was over.

"You don't know who the father is. Darien or Andrew," He delivered it like a Band-Aid should be removed, quickly and without flinching. He only hoped that would help, but, of course, even a Band-Aid couldn't heal a reputation.

"It's over… everything…" Serena sobbed to herself. "How am I going to face my friends! I'm all over the tabloids… I go to Harvard University! No one's ever going to respect me there ever again!" Her childish yelled was probably heard throughout the entire house. "Why did I even agree to all of this? I wish I hadn't come back!" She turned on her heals and threw the door open. Childish; she was like a thirteen year old. Maybe she hadn't completely grown up since she had left.

When she made it out to the foyer she was happy that no one was present to see her sobs. That there would be no one to ask her what was wrong or what had happened? She stopped in the middle of the marble tiled room and put her hands to her eyes, covering them as she cried.

"Stop it!" A male voice bellowed from behind her. She hadn't heard him approach. She hadn't even known that anyone was following her, but she definitely hadn't been expected to be reprimanded for her sobs. She had a right be upset. "Stop crying. You're not a child!"

Serena turned towards him, still crying, but with anger in her eyes. "I have a right to be upset, Darien!" She yelled. She took a few steps towards him as she wrapped her arms around herself, almost cradling her chest.

"Yeah, you have a right." His voice hadn't faltered. He was loud; not as loud as she had been in her father's office, but no one ever raised their voice to her. Not one ever had; not even her father when she had been punished as a child. "You want some respect? You want to be treated like an adult? Start acting like one! This isn't the end of the world!"

"What would you know?" She asked. "All of these rumors can do nothing but boost your reputation."

Darien sighed; realizing that this wasn't making her calm… this was not making her understand anymore than what she already did. He closed his eyes thinking what would help; trying to convince her that what he said was true would not be easy. Whether she would believe him… the chances were slim; not with how he had been treating her. "Do you really think I want to be seen as this? I have a business degree, Serena. I have a reputation too, but I'm not stomping my foot and screaming at everyone, am I?"

Serena started to sniffle. Her sobs slowly started to stop. "Yeah… but you're a m—"

"A man?" Darien laughed. "You think all men like this kind of gossip being spread around? The newspapers are saying that I'm sleeping with my brother's fiancé, Serena. What man from France, Japan, or Australia is going to respect or even want to work with someone who betrays his own family, and the family of the man that he works for?"

Serena couldn't help but look to the ground ashamed. She was still upset. She was still confused. What would she do about all of these rumors? How was this all going to be cleaned up?

"Look," for the first time in his relationship with Serena he had never touched her in kindness; pinching and tickling had always been tools of annoyance. And she had always flinched away from his hand; it was like a defense mechanism that had been embedded into her from years of teasing. When he had put the effort into trying to be courteous she had always pushed him away or slapped his hand... but she didn't now… not when he put his fingers beneath her chin and lifted it so that her beautiful… beautiful blue eyes would look into his. "We'll get this worked out, ok? We both have our reputations on the line. We just need you to be calm, take everything that's being said about you as an adult, alright?"

Serena nodded. She took a deep breath in, wiped her eyes, and nodded one more time. An adult; she had always said she was one… always thought she was all grown up; that somehow just leaving this world of lime light and Gucci had automatically made her one, but now she knew that wasn't true. It took a little more than that.

"Let's go back?" He pushed her slightly on the small of her back wanting her to go back towards her father's office; to make amends with everyone. He was quite relieved when she complied and started walking. He couldn't help but allow his eyes to travel down to her backside as the distance grew slightly between him. He chuckled, his thoughts suddenly turning a little more playful. "You know… You're ass looks way bigger in person than it does on the internet." Yeah… he wasn't about to stop getting his thrills. After all, this was little Serena Cotton Tail.

Author's Note: Well, that turned out a little different than I had planned. I had most of the chapter done a few days ago, but I finally finished it. I know a few of you have asked why Serena is so emotional; I hope that that was just answered. Also, don't ask me where Andrew is… he's going to show up… and actually meet Serena soon, I promise.


	4. Chapter 4

When Serena woke up the next morning, she still found herself completely exhausted. The pure excitement from the day before had worn her senses down. Her body ached from the stress of it all, and now the phrase "a new day, a new beginning" wasn't going to apply to her ever again. She still had to face all those photographers and reporters; not to mention her classmates and professors.

Minutes passed before she actually pushed herself to sit up on her bed. The morning sun bleached the carpet and warmed the room. Silence; it was something she had grown to appreciate back at school. She stretched her arms out, trying to work out the kinks on her shoulders. It felt like she had been in a car accident, though no outward bruises were visible, everything on the inside felt sore and stiff. She had tensed up for the blow of the news reports and rumors that had shocked her world yesterday, and now her body was paying in ten fold.

Did she have to go? She felt like her old teen self not wanting to get up for school that morning, but this time she couldn't just convince Luna to call her in sick. She couldn't fake a temperature with a blow dryer to the thermometer or a pinch to her cheeks to make herself look flushed. Though, to her, Darien was hardly ever right he had been yesterday. She had to act like an adult. She couldn't run away from these problems she was facing. She would go to the engagement luncheon today to visit with her socialite acquaintances; she would go to the unexpected press conference this morning to charm the media; she would do her duty as an adult.

A knock to the door jolted her from her thoughts. "Come in," she said softly with still a bit of grog in her eyes and voice, "Oh… good morning, Ami."

"Good morning," The short haired brunette gave her friend a half smile. She was still in her pajamas, but looked as fresh as ever; a special power that Ami must have possessed. "I didn't wake you, did I?" the med student asked her; noting the sleepy look still on her blond friend's face. "I can go back to—"

"No… I was awake," Serena interrupted. She could use the down to earth company of her roommate right now. Just to talk to someone normal would be a nice change from the craziness that was about to befall her for the rest of the weekend. "Are you hungry?" She asked with a smile, knowing the girls answer.

OOO

With the usual quietness of the Welcott home Serena was quite surprised by the hustle and bustle that she found the kitchen in that morning. Mr. Welcott hadn't kept an 'in-house' chef in the home since his daughters had started high school. There was never any need for one since he was always off on business and his girls had quickly learned the ways of restaurants and take out, but today was different, it seemed. With one head chef, three sous-chefs and several prep-cooks running around the kitchen there was little room to wonder to the fridge and find something for breakfast.

Both of the girls found themselves getting bumped into, constantly, by the hired help, and on several occasions they were yelled at for being in the help's way. "Let's just forget about breakfast for now, Ami." Serena said as she turned to leave the kitchen, but found herself running right into Luna, who was entering with a clip board in her hands.

"Oh! Serena!" Luna said trying her best to help the girl off the kitchen floor. "Are you alright? I didn't see you there?"

"Ugh…" Serena pulled herself up as she rubbed her back side, knowing something was going to be bruised. "Luna… What's going on in here?"

"With so many people in the house, you father decided to staff the entire property." Luna gave a tired smile; her job had gone from just assisting Mr. Welcott in business matters to running the entire Welcott household. "These are some of the chefs from the restaurant downstairs to help us out for now, but if things keep up the way they have been, we're going to have to get a full time cook…" Luna took a deep breath in as if she had something else to add. "Oh, by the way, breakfast is starting in a few minutes in the dining room," Luna muttered off as she started to write something on her clip board; she must have remembered whatever she had been pondering. "So much to do," she mumbled to herself as she finished her thought on the clipboard then looked up at Serena and Ami with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Serena started. "Ami and I don't need a cook to make anything this weekend. We can order out and eat from the fridge—" Serena chimed in, but found herself quickly interrupted.

"You and Ami aren't the only one's staying here for the weekend, Serena…" She flipped through her papers, looking for the list of people she had to accommodate for the week. "Let's see there's you're father, Mina, you, Ami, Me, a few of your father's associates, Darien Hart…"

"Darien Hart!?" Serena exclaimed, surprised. "Why does he have to stay here? Doesn't he have a hole he lives in or something? He's always here!" Ever since she had gotten back into contact with her family around every corner there he was. Bam! Darien Hart! She was getting a little annoyed by it. "Ugh… Ok, is _he _going to be at breakfast this morning, please say no?"

"No, he's getting a few things done for your father this morning. Thank goodness too; he's really lifting some weight off of my shoulders." She checked a few things off on her list and looked back at the girls. "You better get going. You know how your father feels about tardiness." The woman stuck the pen that she had been writing with in her hair and licked her lips before walking off to speak with the head chef… who only seemed to know French. Sacrebleu!

OOO

When Serena left the kitchen she was happy to find that the rest of the house was still relatively calm. Though there were a few maids hanging around, cleaning… something… they were pretty intent on being silent. Serena swung the door open to the dining room and was happy to see her father sitting at the head of the table. She hadn't seen him sitting there without the entire dining room filled with lawyers and paperwork since her mother was still alive. It was a nice sight to see.

"Good morning, Daddy," Serena's voice rang as she took a seat that had already been plated. She smiled as she directed Ami to sit next to her; knowing the girl might be a bit confused on where to start. Though she and Ami were still dressed in their flannels, Serena's father was clad in an Armani suit. It made Serena wonder if they were appropriately dressed, but that soon passed. No big deal.

"Good morning, Sweetheart. Good morning, Ami… that is your name, right?" Mr. Welcott looked over his newspaper and glasses as he peered at Ami with a kind, fatherly, smile. "I'm afraid we didn't get a proper introduction due to yesterday's events." He continued to fold his newspaper so that he might put it to rest for the time being.

"Yes… Yes, that is my name…Ami…" Ami said meekly, with a nervous giggle as she avoided eye contact with the powerful man.

"Hmm. Good," he took a bite from his dry rye toast and looked to his daughter; being sure to finish the bite before speaking to her. "I trust that you both slept well?" He asked turning his head back towards Ami to include her as well.

"Good morning, everyone!" a blond bombshell smiled widely as she burst into the room. She too, like her father, was completely dressed. Her white Bermuda shorts and flower well fitted blouse looked bright and fresh.

"Mina, you're late." Mr. Welcott reprimanded as she stared at his youngest daughter from over his glasses. "Until Serena is of and married we will be having these meals together on a regular basis. I expect you to be on time." His voice was brutal and full of strength making even the most confident sink in her chair slightly like she had done when she was a little girl.

"Yes, Daddy…" Mina said with much less zest than she had a moment or two ago. She hated it when her father made her feel small. He liked doing it on a constant basis too; one of the few reasons why she spent so little time at home now-a-days. "So…" She grabbed a piece of melon from the plate of fruit before her and put it in her mouth.

"So…" Serena suddenly felt bad for her sister. She knew Mina didn't deserve the harsh treatment from her father, and she also knew that her father did love Mina, but for some reason… Ugh, never mind. The elder of the two sisters looked to her father, trying to cut the tension in the air as soon as possible. "So, what time do I have to be ready for the press conference and luncheon today, Daddy?"

"The Conference starts at ten thirty… Lunch starts at twelve o'clock," her father answered as he picked up his news paper one more time; a fork full of eggs on its way to his wide open mouth.

"Oh! Serena," Mina's mood suddenly lifted at the mention of the two 'exciting' events that were taking place that day. "What are you planning on wearing?"

Serena took a drink out of her orange juice and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know… I have this purple stripped shirt and some corduroys that would work, I guess." She took another sip of her juice thinking nothing of the choice in which she had just, randomly, made.

Ami chimed in, ever the pleasant girl. "Oh! I love that shirt!" She said; her voice sweet and soft all at the same time.

"Corduroys? Are you serious?" Mina, fashion extraordinaire scoffed at the idea. "No one wears corduroys and a J.D. Nickel—"

"J.C. Penny." Serena corrected.

"Yeah, whatever. –to a press conference. This thing is going to be everywhere. E! Extra!, Access Hollywood, MTV… You can't wear A.C. Lenny."

"It's J.C. Penny… and it's not a brand it's a store, Mina." Serena corrected her sister again. Hadn't the girl at least seen one in passing?

This time Mina ignored her sister's interruption and went on; only rolling her eyes at her sister's silly store. "From what I've seen my waist is a little bit thinner than yours… and my boobs," she looked down at each of the girls and poked them a few times. "Are a bit bigger… thanks to Dr. Dre—Drew—Dreshton! I can never remember his name… Anyways! You're not going to fit right in anything that I own. But luckily," Mina smiled as if she were incredibly pleased with herself. "I know it's the weekend and really short notice, but I'm sure I could pull a few strings and get in touch with Versace or Prada or someone."

"That's crazy, Mina! Look, I'm perfectly happy with what I have," Serena finally cut in, after looking at her sister for the last few moments with a dropped jaw. It wasn't the names that she had just dropped that had stunned her. She knew quite well that her father was wearing Armani, Luna was wearing Valentino, and that Mina, right in front of her, was wearing Ralph Lauren. It was the simple fact that these designers would actually bow down to any demand the heiress made, especially with only an hour until the press conference and a few after that until the Luncheon. "And you're not going to be able to get them to do that, anyway. No way!"

OOO

A few hours later Serena looked at herself in the mirror in a new Temperley London sapphire blue dress. With black detail at her bust and lace at the hem the dress was quite adorable on her, but so unnecessary. Yes, Mina had won.

She was now waiting for the press conference to start, and her stomach was doing back flips. What was she going to say? What kind of questions were they going to ask? How was she going to answer these people?

"How do I look, good?" a male voice sounded behind her. Serena looked up to see a blond hair, green eyes man playing with his hair slightly. Only moving a few strands ever so much to one side or the other. The man looked just like Darien… well not just like Darien. His eyes didn't have the same dark intent that pulled you in every time you looked at him… And he was blond…

Serena pointed at him quite rudely; a bit shocked at who she was seeing. "Are you… Are you Andrew?" She asked. He was all grown up in his black cashmere jacket, grey top, and jeans… goodness, she hadn't seen him in, what? Six or seven years? He's definitely grown.

"Yeah… and you would make you, Serena? Right?" He pointed back and gave her a charming smile. "And we're getting married…" he gave her a look up and down, assessing her looks and body before he made his final decision. "Yeah… I could marry you," he nodded to himself.

"Wait… wha?" Serena stuttered, a bit surprised, and not knowing how to react to such a quick evaluation. This guy didn't even know her… yeah he didn't seem rub her 'the wrong way' like his brother did, but… he didn't even know her! Then again, she had said yes with no preconceptions of what he was like in either personality or looks… so who was she to judge, really?

"Come on, babe, we're on," he said, his words suddenly reminding her of the rock star mentality. With no time to object, he put his arm around her small waist and led her out onto the stage. Without a second's recognition a thousand bright light bulbs went off all at once; catching her stunned look of confusion on film forever.

"SERENA! ANDREW! SERENA! SERENA! ANDREW!" The reporters yelled all at once so that neither could fully hear their name clearly. The room was loud, filled with about forty reporters all wanting the same thing; answers.

"Ok, ok settle down." A representative of Hart Enterprises opened, he put his hands up trying to get everyone's attention and quiet them down. "Ok, I have Serena Welcott and Andrew Hart here, prepared to make a brief statement and answer a few questions. Ok? This is going to a short press conference only a few questions will be allowed and they all should be appropriate, got it?" He pointed to a few key reporters, all with different badges, but all having one thing in common. They were all from dirty tabloids bent of selling lies.

When the Hart Rep stood down and motioned that Serena and Andrew could now step forward to the microphone Andrew was the first to get to the podium. "Ok! Look. Look." He started with a charming smile. It seemed as if he was going to be playing this all by ear. Had he given any thought to this at all? "First, I would like to say that the rumors of Miss Welcott and I getting married are true." Several bulb flashes suddenly sparked, followed by a few sporadic ones. "The wedding is going to be taking place some time this summer, but other than that we don't have any plans set in stone. The Hart and Welcott Enterprises have been close friends for some time. Our families have known each other for years. In fact, without the help from one to the other; I don't believe either us would be where we are today. Serena and I have known each other since we were very young. Good friends, good friends," as Andrew went on Serena started to notice certain quarks about Andrew that others didn't seem to home onto. When he lied he licked his lips more than usual.

Now, most of what the man had said was the truth. It was true that their two families had been close, but Serena barely knew Andrew. They had hardly spoken to each other in their youth. She had spent more time in Darien's presence bickering than she had in Andrew's, and he was confirming it all with his excessive licking.

The next thing Serena knew Andrew was finished with his statement. He had spoken for both of them, which in truth didn't bother her so much. She didn't really want to go in front of all those photographers and video cameras and deliver a statement, and she was happy to take the back seat on this one, but as soon as he was finished it was her turn. The reporters seemed done with Andrew. Now all they wanted was to talk to her; ask her questions.

"Serena! Serena! There are allegations all of the internet and tabloids of your marriage. When was it decided that you and Andrew would be getting hitched?"

Serena struggled to look at the reporter who had asked her the question, as she was quickly blinded by lights as soon as she had stepped up to the several sets of microphones that were propped up on the podium. "Uh… Last month." She answered simply. Not having much more to say than that.

"Come on! If you two are so in love, let's see a kiss!" One reporter yelled out from the back of the crowd. Serena suddenly stiffened. She hardly knew this guy and now here she was being told to kiss a man in front of the millions of people that were going to be watching this press conference later that night on their entertainment channel.

Andrew chuckled and looked at Serena. Apparently he had been prepared to put on a show if need be. He snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her forward dramatically, like in one of those cheesy 1940s films; looked into her eyes. The entire thing felt staged to her, but apparently everyone else was just licking it up. Cameras started to flash all over the place. To Serena, the entire room was one big light bulb.

She took a deep breath in as she moved in for the kill; smashing his lips to hers in a long passionate kiss. With such a tacky lip lock like this; wasn't she supposed to pop her leg up romantically for some reason, as if she were enjoying this?

She didn't push him away. Oh, no! That would have looked bad, but she definitely didn't enjoy it. Andrew seemed like a nice of enough guy; a little flighty and completely tainted by this lime light life he lived in, but nice just the same. Serena just didn't enjoy it. Weren't first kisses supposed to be… ugh… she didn't know… warm… not making your stomach turn in discomfort, but more like butter flies were swirling around all over it? The good kind of, "I'm going to throw up" feeling. Wow, Serena that sounded really romantic… When she finally got out of the kiss all she could do was lick her lips and wish she could wipe her mouth of the slobber he had just left all over them, but she refrained from doing that, and tried to look as if she had enjoyed it with a smile.

The press seemed to have enjoyed the display of affection; they clapped, and cheered them on. Many cameras went off. Thank goodness that had appeased them. Serena didn't think she could do it again.

"Miss Welcott! Mr. Hart went into some detail about the relationship between your two families in his initial statement; was there anyone else, besides the two of you, which had a hand in this decision?"

Andrew suddenly put his arm around her, startling her slightly. "Well, unfortunately our parents did push the two of us together… they introduced us in the first place, and even persuaded me to finally pop the question, but honestly, what marriage doesn't have those pesky parents and in-laws putting in their two cents, right?" He laughed, allowing the others in the room to join in on the little joke. Serena, quite honestly, didn't understand what was so funny about this. As a man in his prime, Andrew was sure taking this well.

As Andrew let his fiancée loose from his hold he backed off, allowing another reporter to ask a question, "Speaking of your family ties. Serena! What is your relation with Darien Hart! Is it true that you have a sexual relationship with him, and are carrying his child?"

"Wha!?" Serena suddenly started to feel her anger and frustration from the day before swell in her stomach. "Look here!" She started to point an angry finger at the reporter who had asked the question. "You half witte—"

Andrew suddenly butted in, trying to stop Serena from making a fool of herself on national television or in the papers. "What Serena is trying to say is that any allegations of a relationship with my brother are completely false."

"Yeah!" Serena added trying to get some word in on the matter. "And the truth of it is that I don't even like Darien Hart! He's a big jerk!" She wasn't necessarily sure if that was appropriate for the press to hear, but she was being honest and she couldn't help that it had just come out that way. She tried to calm her herself so that she wouldn't come off as childish to the press, but found that it might be a little too late for that. "Darien just isn't my type. So let it be heard right now, because I don't want to hear any more about the matter. Darien and I have never and will never have a relationship together."

OOO

Serena smiled as he looked at her profile in her full length mirror. Sure, the expectations and prices of these designer clothes were pretty ridiculous, but god did they look good once they were on. She smoothed out a wrinkle in the knee length dress suit she was wearing as she admired the completely white, fitted, Dolce and Gabbana ensemble. It was pretty, no, it was gorgeous on her.

"How did it go?" Ami asked from the doorway as she stepped into Serena's bedroom. "The press conference, I mean."

"You know how it went, I'm sure you saw it." Serena said a bit sarcastically as she continued to admire the image of herself in the mirror. Out of the two outfits her sister had arranged for her this was her favorite. She just couldn't stop looking at herself and smoothing out any small wrinkle that might invade the perfection of it.

"Yeah… I did, but I think you handled it well. Andrew seemed nice…" Ami added as she looked at her feet with a smile. "You're lucky. He's so cute… and I can't believe he kissed you! The girls back at school are going to be so jealous."

Serena sighed. "Yeah…" was all she could muster out. He was cute, charming, funny… but he wasn't in love with her… and she wasn't in love with him. She was happy to do this for her father; she just wished she could love the man that she was marrying for the family business. Oh, well… maybe she could learn to love him.

OOO

As Serena looked out the window as the limo rounded the bend she got her very first look at the Hart Estate. It was beautiful. Unlike, the modern contemporary look of her father's condo above one of his hotels, this place was older, more classic. Its character had been etched out one hundred years ago in its brick walls and lush grounds. Serena was left in awe of its beauty as she stepped out of the car and onto its paved driveway.

"You've made it; I see," A smiling Mr. Hart greeted as he walked up to the car, both of his sons in tow. "Most of the guests have arrived and are around back; your father included." He continued then held out a hand to Ami who stood quietly behind Serena. "You must be Serena's friend, Ami. Daniel told me that you would be accompanying my soon to be daughter in law."

Ami took his hand and shook it with little vigor. This entire trip had been full of surprises. She had met many people that, a month ago, she had only thought of as figments of entertainment's imagination.

"Darien," Mr. Hart turned to his eldest son with a smile. "Would you mind taking Miss Luna and Serena's friend around back."

Darien nodded and gave Ami a dashing smile. He held his arm out to her and then to Luna who was still making sure that everything was in order with the driver and her clipboard, which she would be leaving behind. "I would be honored," he said charmingly and led the two to the back, where the luncheon was to be held.

"Alright, Andrew knows what to do next," Mr. Hart said as he patted his youngest son on the shoulder. "Andrew, take care of Serena, I'm sure she's quite overwhelmed. And Serena," he looked to the beautiful young blond with soft, gentle eyes. "Don't feel too nervous, ok? You'll get used to being in the spot light."

What? Serena was a little confused. Did it seem that obvious to the people around her that she wasn't comfortable with all of this fame and glamour? That, by know, two years after leaving this world of money that she had grown used to her meager living at school?

Andrew, like his brother had with the other two women before, offered his arm out the waiting Serena. He winked and gave her a smile before leading her into the house. "We're going to be announced and come through the back of the house. It's a little bit cheesy and overdone, but it's what my father thought was appropriate."

Both of them walked in silence into the Hart Property; their shoes clicking against the old wood floors before stopping right in front of a set of aged double doors leading out into the back gardens. The room felt static as only the sounds of their quiet breathing and the muted playing of orchestra music from outside struggled to fill the room. "Before we go out," Andrew turned to her and started to dig in his pocket. "I was supposed to give this to you before the press conference, but I forgot. Luckily, no one noticed…" he chuckled. "Or that would have been hard to explain." He pulled out a little black velvet box from his jacket pockets and opened it to reveal a hideously large tri-stoned diamond engagement ring.

Serena suddenly started to feel sick at the sight of the diamonds. Nothing had seemed quite as real as this. She held back a gag before he took her hand and slipped the heavy thing on. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate such a gesture of grandeur; it was just that this entire ordeal hadn't quite felt real until that very moment. "Oh, god…" She mumbled to herself trying to hold back the rumbling feeling in her gut, thank goodness Andrew only thought of her words as a statement of surprise at such a large, expensive ring.

"May I now present the future Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hart!" an announcer sound from outside as the doors before them swung open. Andrew led the shell shocked Serena out onto the large stone porch, smiling and filled with a false appeasing happiness.

"Thank you all for coming," He said over the crowd as they clapped, whistled and cheered. "Please enjoy the refreshments, and have a good time." After finishing the greeting he let go of Serena's arm quite easily and didn't bother to tell her where he was going or that he even was. This entire union just felt so damn empty, was her only thought as she met with Ami and Luna who were chatting with each other on the back lawn.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it Serena?" Luna said with a smile, as if she was reading Serena's mind. "Just a little peck here and a little smooch there, some media pictures, and a few good words, it's not that hard." Mr. Welcott's assistant tried to make her feel better, but it wasn't working.

"I'll live through it," Serena finished as Ami handed a glass of soda to her. Thank goodness for Ami. The girl was a life saver. "Oh, god…" Serena nearly crumbled to the floor, wishing she could hide as Darien started to head in their direction. What in the world did he want; to laugh in the glory of his brother's future wife?

"Honestly, Serena I don't understand why you dislike him so— Well, hello Darien. This party is lovely." Luna smiled at the handsome new arrival. He was much taller than the petite as she had to put a bit of effort to look up at his over six foot frame.

"I'm glad, Miss Luna," Darien have her a charmingly handsome smile as he shifted his attention to the future Mrs. Hart. "I hope that it meets your expectations, Miss Welcott. It was all done for you, after all." His voice was deep filled with this sultry sexuality that Serena couldn't recognize.

"It's fine." Serena said sharply, realizing that she sounded a bit unappreciative to the people around me. "I'm mean… It's lovely," she gave a Darien small smile and took another sip of her soda. "Thank you." She added in as an after thought.

"You look nice." He added, gesturing to the all white outfit she was wearing.

"Thank you," the same quick tone she had had before entered her words. She was on guard, waiting for him to make his move; make her feel small and stupid; all while others still thought him witty and charming.

"Darien!" a woman's voice sounded from behind him, her accent with a slight Latina feel. "Darien! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere," her voice, like many around, had some form of falseness within it. Something that Serena just couldn't believe in. She was finding a lot of that lately in the people around her.

Darien sighed with a little frustration as Rei Lopez made her way across the lawn with a glass of red wine in one hand and a hand bag in the other. "Oh! Hello! My name is Rei. You must be the bride to be. Congratulations!" She smiled then looked at Darien with a slight glare. She grumbled slightly muttering under her breath and took a sip of wine from the glass. "You left me all alone with them…" then turned back towards Serena with a smile. "You must be so excited. I know I would be… marrying one of the most sought after bachelors in the world… well it just makes me excited for the day Darien finally pops the question," she giggled trying to make it sound as if she were joking, though secretly she wasn't.

"Oh… I didn't realize the two of you were that close?" Serena gave Rei a charming smile, allowing the super model to go on, and loving the fact that Darien looked rather annoyed by the entire conversation.

"Oh! Yes, of course we are. We've been together for five months?" She looked up at Darien as if asking for a confirmation and getting none. "Well, that's like five years in Hollywood time."

Serena laughed and took another sip from her glass, eyeing Darien with a hint of mischievousness. It was his turn to feel uncomfortable. "I'm so happy for you two." She smiled and tilted her head, trying to give off the feeling of sincerity.

"Yes… I—" Rei was suddenly knocked from behind as some poor server tripped over his own feet and fell right into the Super model, jolting her forward and releasing the red liquid out of the confines of its wine glass and all over Serena's beautiful white Dolce and Gabbana jacket.

Serena yelled out a small scream watching the liquid fly. No! She thought to herself as her eyes started to water. First of all the outfit was outrageously expensive, and not only that but she had looked great! Perfect, for the first time in front of Darien Hart. He had had no reason to pick on her, or make some snooty comment about her figure, and now… now all of that was ruined.

"Oh my goodness!" Luna exclaimed as she grabbed her cloth napkin from under her drink and started to dab at the coat.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you stupid—" Rei suddenly exploded as she berated the poor server who had bumped into her. "Look at her outfit. It's ruined!" She continued on her tirade, while the poor man cringed in fear at the Super Model with razor like claws. The woman was harsh, and unforgiving.

"Rei, calm down." Darien grabbed the raven haired woman's arm trying to pull her away from the initial assailant. "It's alright. I'll take Serena into the house and get her cleaned up." He looked at Serena with a sigh. "The rest of you, please continue to enjoy the party." Darien offered his arm yet again, but this time to only Serena.

When they entered the house and walked to the kitchen the entire place was almost dead. Since the whole event had been catered, there had been almost no reason to use the kitchen, and everyone was enjoying the beautiful day out in the sun in the back gardens. Darien and Serena found themselves alone.

"Sit," Darien ordered as she started to go through the old oak cabinets throughout the kitchen. He looked under the sink and found a bottle of Dawn dishwashing soap, which he pulled out and set on the granite counter. When he noticed that Serena hadn't moved her looked at her with those same sincere eyes that he had used the day before. "I mean it; just take off the jacket and sit, ok?"

Serena glared, not wanting to take orders from the man, but did anyways. She slipped the jacket off revealing a lovely simple sleeveless dress that just hugged every bit of her curves. Even without the jacket the white ensemble was still breath taking. "What are you doing?" She asked as she lifted herself up on one of the bar stools that accompanied the huge island in the middle of the kitchen.

"My grandmother…" He continued to look through cabinets trying to find his last ingredient. "Had a recipe for wine stains… I'm just looking for… Ahah!" when he looked into a small cabinet in the corner filled with first aid supplies he grabbed the brown bottle that was hidden in the back. "Hydrogen Peroxide!"

"That's a twenty-five-hundred dollar jacket. Don't you think that we should leave it to the professionals to take care of?" She asked, a bit snaky, and upset that the jacket had been so quickly ruined after obtaining it.

"Are you insulting my grandmother?" he asked with a raised eye brow then continued to look at the jacket. "Look, I've used it on Hugo Boss slacks, on Versace jackets, and Ralph Lauran shirts, will you please just trust me? It works."

Serena grumbled and crossed both of her arms in a guarded position. "Fine, just do it. It can't get any worse, anyways." She said.

He took a clean wash cloth from a small pile next to the sink and wet it a little. Setting it down next to his two ingredients, he uncapped the soap and started to squeeze it onto the jacket; nothing happened. Next he twisted off the cap of the brown bottle and slowly started to pour the clear liquid onto the jacket. The stain just started to fade away, like magic.

"Oh, my god! It's gone!" Serena squealed as the once perfectly white jacket was white again. "I can't believe it!" Without thinking she smiled to Darien, happy that the expensive piece of clothing had been saved.

"See, I told you." Darien chuckled as she admired the beauty of the smiling Serena. This was the first time he had ever been able to make her smile. The first time… and they had known each other for quite awhile.

"What's that for?" Serena pointed to the wet wash cloth that he had grabbed earlier, wondering why he had it since just the mixture alone had removed the horrible stain on her clothing.

"That," he picked up the wash cloth and handed it to her, "is for your make-up. Your crying has made it run a little. You look like a cheap hooker." He chuckled as she suddenly started to panic and race to the metal toaster on the counter to look at her reflection.

"Oh, god!" Serena tried to dab off the running mascara but seemed to be having a little bit of a problem. She did! She did look like a cheap hooker! "Ugh… I can't go back out there like this," she sighed, continuing to try, but finding no light at the end of the tunnel.

"Sit down," Darien ordered again.

Serena, so disheartened by the bad luck she had already dealt with, sighed as she went back to the stool she had been sitting on before. She threw the wet wash cloth down and held her head in one hand, leaning on granite for the support of her sorrow. How could anything possibly get any worse? Wait… don't ask that, knowing her luck, it would.

Darien took the washcloth in one hand and looked at her. "Sit up straight." He said, again in his demanding voice, which yet again she listen to. He started to dab at her face, carefully taking off the smudged and dripping make up; being extra careful to be gentle. "You know, I'm disappointed in you," he said as he flicked his eyes down at her briefly then went back to dabbing the make up off of her face.

"Oh, because I was so trying to live up to your expectations," Serena remarked sarcastically. She sat incredibly still, not wanting the man to poke her in the eye or smudge anything more than it already was. "Ok, I'll bite… why?"

"Do you know why I'm not the one you're marrying and Andrew is?" he asked, stopping for a moment and looking at her, his face hard. Before she had a moment to respond he answered for her. "Because I said no. They asked me to do it, and I said no," Darien went back to dabbing the makeup carefully off of her face.

"That's not a surprise. We're not exactly best friends, now are we?" Serena added matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I know, you don't even like me," he added, quoting the press conference from earlier that day. "But that's not the reason I said no, Serena." He started to move farther from her eyes, getting the remnants of what had dripped down to her cheeks. "I said no, because I didn't want to marry someone that I didn't love; that I didn't care about. There's no respect in that… and quite honestly, I thought you would say no too. I thought you were smarter than this."

"My dad has done a lot for me and my sister… it's the least I can do." Serena tried to defend herself, but knew there was no way she would actually sound right in this matter. Marrying someone just because it would bring together two fortunes was an archaic practice… and yet she had still said yes. Darien was right, but even so, she couldn't go back on her word now. She had promised to help her father out, and that promise she would keep.

"You're throwing your life away, Cotton Tail." He said finishing up and looking intently down at her. "Andrew's a good guy… but he's not the one for you. You two have nothing in common."

"Well, I haven't come across anyone who's right for me anyway. Might as well get it over with," Serena said sharply.

"The hunt is the best part," Darien smirked then looked down at her perfectly shaped pink lips. He dabbed the washcloth for no particular reason around the side of them then leaned down and laid a soft kiss across them. It wasn't passionate or incredibly hot. It was just warm and soft. He had been unbelievably gentle as his lips met with hers for the first time and as soon as it started it was over. "I had to try it out for myself," he added with a gorgeous smile.

Serena sat completely stunned. She hadn't expected it at all and really didn't know what to think of the entire thing. She didn't like Darien. She didn't like how he treated her half the time and didn't appreciate his spot light mentality, but that kiss had been something else. She laughed, a bit embarrassed, not knowing what to say.

"Don't read too much into, sweetheart. I just have to seduce you before my brother does."

"Ugh!" Serena glared at him, pushing him away as she got to her feet. "You're such an egotistical asshole, you know that? Stay away from me!" She took her jacket from the counter and stomped out of the room, her white heeled shoes clacking the entire way out of the house.

OOO

Author's Note: So, sorry about how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. I hope I made it up to you by having an extra long chapter. I just started a new job at a hotel and now I seem to have no time! With 32 hours at the hotel and 16 hours a week at my school, my time has now been split by my boyfriend and my roommate. Finding time to sit by myself in my 'writing spot' (Yes, I have one of those. I don't like to write anywhere else) has been really hard, and I've actually been wanted to finish this chapter for about a week now, but have had no time.

I hope you like it. Just so you know that mixture does, in fact, get out wine stains. And all the outfits that I put on Serena are actually outfits that I found at the Saks Fifth Avenue website, and that jacket… yeah that jacket actually does cost about $2,500.

Now that I work at a hotel I've come up with some new ideas for another story that I would like to write as soon as I finish this one. It's going to be entitled "The Palmer House Suites" so look forward to that starting as soon as this one is finished.

I can't think of anything else to say other than please tell me what you guys think. I would really like to know.


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